Marriage Takes Three
October 17th, 2007 by Laura M. Brotherson
This poem is one of my all-time-favorite marriage poems. . .
Marriage Takes Three
I once thought marriage took
Just two to make a go,
But now I am convinced
It takes the Lord also.And not one marriage fails
Where Christ is asked to enter,
As lovers come together
With Jesus at the center.
But marriage seldom thrives
And homes are incomplete
Until He’s welcomed there
To help avoid defeat.
In homes where Christ is first,
It’s obvious to see,
Those unions really work,
For marriage still takes three.
by Perry Tanksley of Dear Cards Company
You’ll find this poem in our book “And They Were Not Ashamed” on page 158, as well as the diagram (p. 159) shown above that illustrates how as husband and wife draw nearer to God they also draw nearer to each other.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Marriage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I’ve always liked the triangle diagram- even Elder Bednar has used this. In most cases, I believe this is true.
In some cases, I believe husband and wife both progress individually (to some extent) without becoming one. I believe such an approach defeats the purpose of marriage and cheats the couple of many blessings that could be theirs if they sought the oneness that is intended through marriage.
I believe that one or both spouses in these “parallel” marriages may feel that they are progressing and may not even realize all that they are missing. Individuals in these marriages cannot know the joy that comes from oneness, nor can they obtain the same degree of progress that accompanies those couples that jointly seek to honor their covenants.
I believe that most of us, to some extent, become somewhat complacent in our marriages, and over time, if course corrections are not made, these marriages will eventually end up as “parallel” marriages where joy and progress are limited. Such a result to me is as tragic as divorce or infidelity.